BAM Cultural District: Alive If Not Exactly Kicking
The most recent headline-grabbing news about the BAM Cultural District was that the Enrique Norten-designed library was not going to happen after all because of a lack of funds. As an article in the new issue of The Architect’s Newspaper points out, other pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together, thanks is part to…
The most recent headline-grabbing news about the BAM Cultural District was that the Enrique Norten-designed library was not going to happen after all because of a lack of funds. As an article in the new issue of The Architect’s Newspaper points out, other pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together, thanks is part to the Bloomberg gang getting more hands on by moving the BAM LDC under the umbrella of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP).
First up, the Theatre for a New Audience (at right), designed by Frank Gehry and Hugh Hardy, will move next door to the Mark Morris Dance Company on Lafayette, which opens up room for a decent-sized park at the corner of Lafayette and Ashland. This open space, currently being referred to as Grand Plaza, will act as an entry way to the three major cultural institutions; parking will go underneath the park. In addition, HPD has finished taking proposals for a new mixed-used building on the corner of Fulton and Ashland whose anchor tenant will be the contemporary dance company Danspace. In addition to financing, the big question in all this is timing. In addressing why it’s been nine years since planning began, DBP Prez Joe Chan said, Coordinating development with cultural groups is a lot more complicated than private developers.
A Second Act for the BAM Cultural District [Architect’s Newspaper] GMAP
That area is going to be awesome in a few years when these buildings go
up. It may be worth looking at buying an apartment at Forte on Fulton &
Ashland before the area gets too expensive.
Ha! Too true, 10:20, too true.
8:50, are you new to the site? By my count:
People who know what they are talking about – 1,269
Euryximachus – 14
You go, 4:01.
People who know what they are talking about – 1
Euryximachus – 0
your “more sophisticated friends”?
I LOVE BAM. I love the Harvey theater, its gorgeous “crumbling” anti-design.
However, I gotta agree that it’s become kind of an embarassing to bring my more sophisticated friends there. It’s really run down. It basically looks like the organization is either dirt poor or totally financially mismanaged. Those cheap front doors need to be repainted, if they can’t actually replace them. The flooring looks like a very tattered gym floor.
it’s just embarassing.
What’s the problem over there? are they poor?
i have a bachelors degree in music business, masters and doctorate degrees also from juilliard in music, and i am not only a performer but also manage some of the most highly trained and successful classical musicians and opera singers in the world. and my boyfriend plays in the brooklyn philharmonic, among other groups. and no, they are not there by default.
and that is my reason why i know it is a great venue. i don’t need to arge with some pipsqueek who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.
you are incredibly misinformed on so many levels its laughable…in the past it seemed mainly about real estate and now apparently about the performing arts and music as well. and since your prior history of rants on here about your 6 figure salary not being enough to buy your 20 something ass a place in brooklyn (or anywhere else for that matter) seems as though you are either lying or simply not very talented. i’m guessing a little of both.
and yes, i am a homeowner and just a tad older than you.
G-man thanks for the tip. I stand corrected.
As for you Anon 3:03 – BAM may be one of the best venues, but that isn’t saying much. It is one of few. The acoustics are acceptable, but street noise is a major problem. Serious musicians certainly don’t consider it a major venue on a national level, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic performs there out of default.
As for “modern” operas, if you mean its great to listen to an opera without live music… you might be right. Some people (myself included) don’t think it should be live music OR a performance.
As a Juilliard graduate with a music degree, performing arts people typically just don’t care much about music. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that a stage tech would think it’s a fine space.
I’ve played in venues all over the country, and considering BAM is the best the nation’s 4th largest city has – it is a joke. If you think BAM is sufficient, and that anyone seriously involved with the arts would think it’s sufficient, tells me your intimate involvement in the arts is irrelevent. Perhaps you should go back to changing those lightbulbs.
As well – a tip on arguing – perhaps you can point out why the space is so fabulous and why my criticisms are either unfounded or irrelevant. Just because you and some unammed people consider it one of the best venues is not an argument. It’s just BS.
speaking as someone who works intimiately in the performing arts in new york, i can say that BAM (especially the harvey theatre) is considered one of the best venues in all 5 boroughs. it is especially good in terms of acoustics and space for modern operas, the brooklyn philharmonic’s performances as well as for dance and some of the more integrated performanced they put on there.
you don’t know what you are talking about, per usual eryximachus.